OXYGEN THERAPY FOR VENTILATION IN CHILDREN

Oxygen therapy is a common practice in the treatment of critically ill children. Increasing the fraction of oxygen in the inhaled mixture (FiO2 ) is one of the mandatory methods of intensive therapy in the presence of hypoxemia in a child. Monitoring of oxygen saturation in children receiving respiratory support is standard worldwide. However, there is no optimal systemic oxygenation target in critically ill children and no ideal PaO2 target in any clinical trial. In pediatric intensive care units, invasive mechanical ventilation with increased FiO2 to maintain peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2 ) and PaO2 is the most common method of respiratory therapy for severe respiratory disorders in children. At the same time, it is important to determine the optimal level of oxygen saturation for children receiving mechanical ventilation. It is known that the harm of high fractional oxygen delivery and an increase in SpO2 > 97% may exceed their benefit. In this article, we wanted to define and emphasize that the selection of the correct ventilation modes should be based on both the CO2 partial pressure and SpO2 indicators. Striving for SpO2 > 97% can lead to hyperoxia.